


Bodyguard

by FujurPreux



Series: 'Til It Feels Right [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drunk Tony Stark, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Morning Cuddles, Morning Sex, POV Tony Stark, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-21 04:20:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19995757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FujurPreux/pseuds/FujurPreux
Summary: After saving him from HYDRA, Steve now has to save Tony from himself.





	Bodyguard

**Author's Note:**

> Once more, thanks to sadisticsparkle and laurus_nobilis for the beta and help and cheering!

Waking up next to another naked body wasn't remotely unheard of for Tony. However, the need to burrow himself further into the other body and to keep clinging to that other waist forever even before remembering the identity of his current bedmate was new. As his mind cleared, memories came back. He raised his eyes to make sure that the night before hadn't been yet another of those wet dreams he'd had for the last two years and that always ended in frustration and on a cold and empty bed.

Steve. He was there. He had come back and they had spent the night together in Tony's bed and he was still there.

Smiling, Tony reached to touch Steve's beard but then he realized that if the good memories were real, so were the bad ones. He sat up slowly, feeling torn. Rhodey had warned him several times about… About  _ them. _ He didn't even want to think their names. They had betrayed him. They had used him. 

He rubbed his face. So, in the end, he had no one, did he? No, that wasn't true. Rhodey had tried to speak up. Even Happy had pursed his lips every time he met them. And Steve had come from who knows where to save him after they had promised not to see each other again. He even stayed the night because Tony had asked him to. 

Tony turned his head to see the man who had become his rescuer twice over now. Steve looked so beautiful when he slept. His massive chest went up and down in a rhythmic fashion and narrowed down around the well-defined abs Tony kept wanting to lick all the way to the narrow waist. This was called a heroic physique for a good reason. Should he ask to be fucked hard against the wall before or after breakfast? He had so many important decisions to make.

More at ease now, Tony reached again and caressed Steve's beard. He didn't mean to do it, but the touch woke the other man up.

Steve opened his eyes and smiled at Tony. It was a smile even more gorgeous than any from the night before—and than any from Tony's memory, for that matter. Somehow, it made Tony upset. 

"Good morning, Tony," he said, daring to not sound drowsy at all. Oh, that was why. 

"Morning. I see you didn't bother to bring me breakfast this time around."

Steve laughed and began to sit up. The movement made the sheet covering him fall down to the side revealing his glorious peak-of-human-possibility cock. What a wonderful sight. It made up both for the lack of drowsiness and the lack of breakfast. 

"Give me a moment and I'll go get you some."

Tony stopped him by placing his hand on Steve's chest. There was nothing in the pantry nor the fridge, which meant that Steve would have to go out to buy something, and Tony didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts. Besides, he owed the man. "Wait. How would you feel about going to a nice café? My treat. We can tell everyone you're my new bodyguard."

Steve got a pensive look that made Tony panic. "You joke, but that may be the best option."

"Is that a yes on the breakfast?"

"Yeah. It's a yes on the breakfast." His smile disappeared, however. "Besides, we need to talk."

Tony kept his poker face, the well-practiced one he used when he pretended not to care about something. "Is it about last night? Because I'm aware that I have to apologize for failing to deliver after talking so big."

Steve's smile returned, although only for a second. He touched Tony's cheek and it took all of the latter's will not to lean his head and rest its weigh on Steve's hand. He still had some dignity left. 

"I have no complaints about that part of last night."

Tony withdrew a few inches. He was fearing he would want to talk about everything that came before he climbed on Steve's lap. "Good. If you had complaints about the sex part, I'd be kicking you out of the bed. My bed. On which you slept all night long for free."

"And you slept on my arm all night long too. I'd say we're even." 

Steve made a show of stretching and moving said arm and Tony couldn't help but feel guilty. He had been there and he hated the numbness and always did his best to avoid it. Now, he had caused it and Steve's arm would not be able to feel anything for hours. 

"Sorry," Tony muttered as he cringed only to hear a low chuckle next to him. He raised his eyes again. "What?"

"It's okay. Supersoldier, remember? I've bounced back from much worse."

Tony pouted. How could have he forgotten that Steve enjoyed teasing him like that?

Steve surprised him by kissing him. Tony, although still annoyed, returned the kiss, laying back down on the bed and pulling the supersoldier on top of him. 

"Now you owe me."

"I do?" Steve asked, taking his cue and kissing Tony's neck. 

"For the teasing. I expect to be thoroughly fucked by the time we go for breakfast."

He felt Steve grinning against his skin. 

"I guess I can do that."

Tony relaxed and, with his hands roaming Steve's broad back, he tilted his head to give him better access to his neck, sighing happily when he felt teeth grazing the skin. Steve's hand caressed Tony's sides and his cock rubbed against Tony's leg, stirring and making promises he planned on delivering, something Tony cheered on with encouraging moans. In response, Steve kissed him with such passion he felt himself go hard in record time. 

So, yes. Maybe the morning wouldn't be a total loss after all. 

*

Steve made good on his word. Tony limped his way to the elevator while Steve followed him sporting a very smug smile on his face and a spring in his step. His suit was the kind that didn't wrinkle, and he had insisted on borrowing a pair of sunglasses and a tie to better look the part of a bodyguard. Steve looked so perfect for the part Tony put him in charge of little tasks such as locking the apartment door behind them and pressing the elevator buttons. It impressed Tony how impossibly hot he was even when his smile vanished into an all-business frown when they reached the street. However, if anyone could pay for an impossibly hot bodyguard, that one was Tony Stark. 

As they went through the streets to Tony's favorite place, Steve's protecting presence towered behind him every step of the way. Like he wouldn't let anyone hurt him ever again. It was warm and deliciously kinky at the same time. It was a great game and Tony was glad to have thought of it. 

A paparazzo approached them. He and his ilk had become background noise to Tony over the years; he didn't care about them nor what they did anymore. Sometimes, he delighted in giving them something to talk about. So they could pay the rent or whatever they did with the money they got exploiting his life. This time around, though, Tony pretended to just keep walking and ignoring the guy. Alas, it was not to be. 

In a blur that Tony only noticed thanks to his hyper-awareness of his companion's closeness, Steve reached for the camera, extracted the film, and gave the first back after pocketing the latter. The paparazzo, on the other hand, remained there, staring at his camera and wondering what had happened when Tony and Steve turned around the corner. His face, as Tony confirmed with a glance from the corner of his eye, was hilarious. 

"I think I'll keep you for real," Tony whispered. 

Steve's only answer came in the form of the corner of his mouth curving upward. 

The dutiful bodyguard stood behind the young billionaire while he asked for a private table for two. As the maître d' led them to the best place in the house, several eyes rose to follow them. Tony wondered what Steve thought of that because he—well, he felt proud. If they only knew that was the long-lost Captain America. If they only knew that he had spent the entire night on his bed and that less than an hour ago they had been fucking so hard Tony had problems pretending he could walk normally. His smile broadened. It was his secret and he would never share it. 

They got to a private table in a balcony. It was spacious, surrounded completely by palm trees and shrubberies, and nevertheless, it managed to have a nice view of the street below them. At night, the waiters brought candles, which made it cozier and more intimate. Tony would love to bring Steve later for dinner. If he agreed to stay. But Tony didn't know how to ask - except maybe keep him busy sucking him off until it was too late to do anything else. 

Before they took a seat, Steve did his thing and checked the entire area for—for who knows what, really. He came back empty-handed and gave his blessing via a nod for them to take a seat. Because, bodyguard or not, Tony wasn't going to let him stand behind him the entire meal. That was for another time.

They were left alone to peruse the menu. 

"I think I'll get some coffee and pancakes," Tony said. "You?"

"Same. Only a lot more."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. You barely left anything for me that morning. I'd demand you apologize for it if your metabolism didn't make up for it."

Steve lowered his voice. "I'd ask if you mean the super strength and the quick reflexes but I just know you mean my cock."

Tony grinned openly and didn't bother with the volume. He had requested this table for a reason. "And how fast you get it up again, but yes. You're getting to know me. Good." He then pressed a discreet button hidden next to the flower vase and a waiter came rushing by to take their order.

"Two coffees and fifteen pancakes, please."

"Right away, sir," the waiter responded as if Tony's request were an everyday thing. He then picked up the menus and went straight to the kitchen.

"Say, Steve," Tony said as they were left alone again, "have you been raiding HYDRA bases for the last two years?"

"For the last twenty, actually."

Tony whistled. "Twenty? Really? With no vacations?"

"Those were my vacations."

Again, the deadpan tone. This time, Tony was expecting it and was able to appreciate the humor behind it. He chuckled and shook his head, which earned him an approbatory grin from Steve. That felt good. Almost as good as the sex. Furthermore, he felt himself blushing, which only intensified the wrinkles around Steve's eyes. Nice and dignified wrinkles Tony wanted to touch but didn't. 

Were those butterflies in his stomach or was he getting hungrier by the second?

The waiter returned at that moment with a big tray and the question remained unanswered. However, in case it was the hunger, that would soon be appeased. 

Tony hurried to get four of those pancakes into a plate before Steve took care of their entire order. Which he did, not bothering with a plate but dousing what was left on the tray with a generous amount of honey. On the plus side, he did use cutlery, even if he made a big deal out of it.

Tony snorted. "You're ridiculous." Yet, he was glad. Both because he got to see Steve and to see him happy and because he felt understood. With him, he had gotten what he wanted at every turn without having to ask for it half the time.

Steve chuckled between mouthfuls of pancake. "They're good. I can see why you like this place." He looked around them in the balcony, and then down to the street making it look casual, but Tony couldn't help to think he was on the lookout. That he was serious about the bodyguard game. That he had good reasons for it.

Tony took his time sipping more coffee. He didn't want to ask because if he did, the whole charade would be over and he'd have to talk about those people he had believed his friends until the night before. He wasn't ready. He didn't think he'd ever be.

He looked down at his plate and found it empty. At the same time, he heard the metallic click of Steve's fork being placed on the tray. He had timed himself to finish alongside Tony, the asshole.

Steve's expression grew serious and pensive as he thought of a good way to say whatever he needed to say. It took him long enough that Tony found it unbearable and exploded first instead.

"Yes, I know I'm an idiot."

The self-deprecation caught Steve by surprise. "Tony?"

"That's what you're going to say, isn't it? That I'm the worst judge of character and I should be more careful. Probably with worse words, too. Everyone does." But he deserved them every time, and now even more.

Steve's face softened and somehow that made it all worse. "Tony, those people were trained for this. They knew how to get to you. They studied your weak spots. Everything about them from the way they looked to what they wore and even how they moved was carefully crafted. It wasn't your fault not to know that."

"But I should have realized. I'm a high-profile figure. Too many people have tried to take advantage of it already. I should've learned to be more careful by now. I deserve whatever happens to me." Except for the last sentence, Tony was repeating words he had heard from Rhodey several times already. It seemed like his friend would have to keep repeating them for the foreseeable future. 

"What you deserve is to live your life in peace." 

Funny how that phrase said so caringly hit Tony's core in such a way he considered dashing away in an attempt to outrun a super soldier. But common sense and the awareness of his physical limitations prevailed. Instead, Tony looked away, to the street. People came and went down there, minding their own business and worrying about their own problems, all of them unaware of the trials and tribulations of the poor, handsome, young, and genius millionaire on the third floor.

The warmth of Steve's hand on his own startled him. Tony turned back and fixed his eyes on the spot where they touched, not daring to look at the man's face.

"Tony, I mean it. You were at a disadvantage and you're not at all to blame for what happened."

Tony's eyes raised to meet Steve's and he immediately felt ashamed and afraid. Shame was easy to deal with. One just numbed it down with a heavy dose of whiskey. Tony suspected Steve would find his coping mechanism disagreeable, especially at this time of day. Respectable people usually did, and Steve was respectable. He was a good an honorable man who had already saved him from being murdered, kidnapped, and who had tended his physical wounds already, and now tried to tend the emotional ones. This is where the fear came in.

Steve had returned to save him. Well, mission accomplished. Job well done. But he kept on taking more and more jobs. Right now, it seemed like he wouldn't be satisfied unless he saw Tony doing well. But Tony would never do well. He was a disaster and a disappointment. There were thousands of much worthier causes that deserve the attention of… of  _ former _ Captain America. Hell, he was probably working on one of those when he found out about the kidnapping ploy, and he dropped it all to come to save Tony's ass. No matter how long it would take him, Steve was bound to realize that his time and effort would be put to better use elsewhere, and then he would go. He would leave Tony alone again. It was unavoidable. Fine. Better to attack first and get it over with.

Tony frowned and withdrew his hand from under Steve's with a sharp movement. "Will you stop being so patronizing?" As soon as he said it, he wanted to stop. To take it back. But he had already started and there was no unsaying those words. He could at least make it quick. "You come here and tell me my friends were never my friends and that I was played, and you do it with your perfect body and your understanding words and who's to say you're not—"

The words froze in his throat. Steve's face looked surprised and hurt and now Tony couldn't go on. He wouldn't be able to finish the phrase without breaking down on the outside the same way he was doing it on the inside. Instead, he got up. The screech of the chair when he pushed it backward echoed the shriek in Tony's head.

"Tony, wait," Steve said, getting up as well.

Tony held his hand forward, for a moment fearing that it wouldn't work. That it wouldn't make Steve stop. It did, though, and Steve remained where he was. 

The final strike was next. 

"I'll take care of the bill on my way out. Stay as long as you want. Just don't follow me." Tony then left the establishment with fast and long strides, leaving the other man alone in the balcony. Three words suffice for the manager to agree to send him the bill, so Tony continued his way down the stairs, reaching the street through the back exit. It was then that what he had done caught up with him. 

He covered his mouth with his hand before rubbing his face as he shivered. Everything he had dreamed of for the past two years laid broken and burned to the ground on his wake. 

"Well, no one's stopping me from getting a drink now," he thought, choking back a hysterical cackle. 

He arrived at his apartment alone. No one had followed him. He had outrun a super soldier in the end, after all, didn't he. But he wasn't going to give himself time to think about it. As soon as he locked the door behind him, Tony put the place upside down looking for any alcohol that could be around. He didn't find all the bottles he would've liked, although the ones he did were enough to get him where he wanted to be. He opened them as he found them and emptied them all the way to the bottom.

The more he drank, the angrier he got. Angry at the world. Angry at the two assholes who had betrayed him. Ast Steve for bringing to the surface that his friends weren't that at all. At himself for being… for being himself. At that point, he began throwing the empty bottles against the wall as he emptied them. 

After a while, when he stumbled his way down to the kitchen and rummaged in the drawers he realized two things. First, Steve had eaten the last of the peanuts. Second, while doing so, he had found all the mint-flavored candy and gum Tony had hoarded for two years and had thought nothing of it. Hopefully. Ever since that time when Steve saved him from those muggers and applied that mint-smelling ointment on him, Tony hadn't been able to smell the damn thing without thinking of the man. He kept every mint-scented thing he could put his hands on but never could eat any of it. 

This train of thought brought forward another item that also haunted him: Steve's dog tags. Tony refused to use the word 'theft' even if they had mysteriously found their way to his pocket before they had parted ways. Steve wanted to keep his location a secret at all times, and probably that he was still alive as well. Honoring his implied wishes, Tony created a secret compartment on the wall for them. Secret and impossible to find unless you knew what you were looking for - or maybe if you were a super soldier with heightened senses.

Telling himself that sober he would've panicked just as much, Tony rushed to check on the dog tags. Despite his anxious state and the alcohol in his system, his hand remained steady as he went over his passwords and other security measures. Finally, he opened the sliding door and let out a breath of relief. The dog tags were there, undisturbed. Until now. 

He should have left them alone, not grab them and tangle the chain around his fingers as he was doing now. The coolness of the metal against his skin and the name engraved on them felt like a thorn in Tony's side, a reminder of what he had thrown away. He put them back, locked them up again, and finished his current bottle. That done, he threw it against the wall and uncorked a new one, which he drank on his way to the bedroom.

The room was exactly how they had left it. Steve had offered to make the bed but Tony was hungry and hurried him out. As a result, the bed was a mess he not long ago had considered joyful, and the sheets still smelled of Steve and his come.

Steve, Steve, Steve. This was Tony's apartment and the man had been there only a handful of hours, but the memory of him, of all the ways that he had made Tony feel protected and cared for lingered in every corner. 

Tony was tired. He wasn't sure where he got the presence of mind to leave the bottle on the bedside table, but he congratulated himself on not making a further mess when he let himself fall on the bare mattress. The sheets, he held against his chest before burying his face in them. 

Two years worth of hopes and dreams annihilated when they were right in front of him. And all because of— Because of what? His pride? His stupidity? Because one betrayal was enough and he'd better attack instead of being on the receiving end? He had hurt Steve. He knew that much. He had made sure to make Steve aware of terrible Tony was. That he should stay away. Many people had faced that same lesson before and, once learned, none had bothered to come back. 

"See how you're better without me, you asshole?" he mumbled against the sheets. Soon, he fell asleep.

*

Sunlight on his face woke him up, which meant it should be around five in the evening. A terrible moment to be hungover, too. He hid his head under a pillow in an attempt to shield his still unopened eyes from the light, but it was too late. Tony's head and temples already throbbed as if they tried to win some kind of contest while his eyes, set on fire, cheered them on. He wouldn't even bother with trying to stand up; the room already spun around him as it was. He'd have to weather this for a while until he felt able to travel all the way to the kitchen and get some water, the one thing he knew he could get from there. 

He turned around, giving his back to the window and, as he reached out for a second pillow to hug, he noticed that the crumbled, sticky sheets were nowhere to be found. Tony groaned as his hand searched for them despite the irrationality of his need for them. But need them he did, no matter how disgusting they were. Yet, all he felt under his fingers was a fresh sheet all over the mattress. That made him open his eyes, action he immediately regretted, just like so many others today. He blinked and tried again, now more slowly. It worked better.

Yes, the clean sheets were there, unlike the old ones and the bottle he had left on the bedside table. Weird. The cleaning people were scheduled until the next week and Tony himself was not going to do any cleaning ever, not even at his drunkest. 

Then, he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. In theory, it was a terrible idea to sit up so quickly, but he did anyway. The rush of adrenaline helped him feel less dizzy than he should've felt otherwise. He waited a couple of seconds pass to adjust himself before leaving the bed. Then, he went to the door, walking slowly and holding his head. The next step was the journey to the kitchen. Despite his state of both body and mind, he couldn't help but notice that he hadn't stepped on a single piece of glass. All the shards were gone as well.

Tony took a deep breath before taking a peek into the kitchen. There, for once in his life, he saw exactly what he expected to see: Steve standing next to the counter, pencil in hand, and looking back at him with an awkwardly guilty face. On the other side, there was a paper bag that seemed to be full of fruit. The last part hadn't been part of Tony's mental theater but he didn't feel like complaining. 

Without a word, Tony strode toward the counter to read the note Steve was writing. Since it was addressed to him—to whom else, really—it was only logical. That Steve never stopped him served only as confirmation.

_ Tony, I apologize for the intrusion. Here are your keys and something to help with your hangover. Drink it in one go. Don't think about it. _

Tony then looked at the glass next to the note, full of a foul-looking, funny-smelling concoction. Then, he did as instructed, grabbing it and drinking its content in one go. If you couldn't trust Captain America then there was no hope for the world. The liquid hit his stomach and, for a second, Tony thought it would come back. But instead it settled down his stomach and the throbbing in his temples began to subside.

A key chain dangled from Steve's raised hand. "Well, I—"

Tony looked away, terrified of what could come next. But Steve placed the key chain on the counter and walked away without another word.

It wasn't until he heard the door opening and closing that Tony realized what had happened. Steve was gone, but he hadn't said goodbye. 

Tony grabbed an apple from the bag on his way out and ran outside. He found the hall empty but the window to the alley open.

"You dramatic ass…"

Steve had already reached the street when Tony got to the window. Good. He hadn't left-left yet. 

"Hey!" Tony called as he threw down the apple right at Steve's head, who grabbed it effortlessly at the last second as if it had been a baseball. 

"Yeah?"

"You'll keep stalking me, won't you? There's no stopping you once you set your mind on something. That's what everyone's always said. So, why don't we make it official? You're hired!"

"Hired?"

"You know, as my bodyguard. Starting today. Come back up so we can settle details while I call legal and have someone bring the contract. With whatever name you want, just…"  _ Just say yes. _

"You got it, boss," Steve said, smiling, just as he began to climb his way back the same way he had left the building.

"Show off." Tony shook his head, glad that there was nobody else around at that time but him to see him, and glad that he had gotten Steve to stay again. This time, he wouldn't let go, and they could go back to the café and have that nice dinner. 


End file.
